Microsoft Says Goodbye to Delve in December 2024
Explore Microsoft's decision to retire Delve in December 2024 and what it means for your organization.
Last updated: September 2024
Wow. Delve is going away - gone, kaput, adios - at the end of 2024. 😲
In the dynamic realm of the digital workplace, Microsoft's toolkit is undergoing yet another transformation.
Microsoft has set the stage for Delve's swan song in December 2024. With Delve poised to join the likes of Sway and StaffHub in the Office 365 Hall of Fame—or perhaps, its hall of memory.
The Rise and Fall of Microsoft Delve
Delve burst onto the scene with a vision of enhancing profile data quality and transforming how we search and connect within our digital workspaces. It was a bold leap, leveraging the Office Graph (now the Microsoft 365 Graph) to map out the intricate tapestry of our work relationships.
Delve was the tool that was supposed to make sense of our digital clutter, to make finding the correct information as intuitive as a conversation.
But here's the twist: Delve's profile editing and search features, while trying to be groundbreaking, often felt like trying to drink from a firehose—too much, too fast, and just hard work. Users were constantly faced with search results showing tons of information and not being able to find what they were looking for. Which lead to a steady decline in the value employees found in Delve.
Delve's decline was also a tale of stagnation. As the tech world raced ahead, Delve was left in the dust, with Microsoft pulling the plug on innovation and slowly dismantling its features. It was a clear signal—the tech giant's gaze had shifted elsewhere, and Delve was left to fade away.
What Microsoft Had to Say About Retiring Delve in December 2023
On a day like any other, 14 December 2023 to be exact, Microsoft 365 Admin Center users were met with a stark announcement:
"Delve will be retired on December 16th, 2024."
Microsoft's narrative is that certain Delve features will still be available in various other Microsoft tools.
Here's the lowdown on where certain Delve features have been replaced in the wider Microsoft 365 universe:
- Delve Home: Your personalized document recommendations have migrated to Office.com, Office apps, and Profile Cards.
- Delve Profile: Your digital identity is now accessed through Profile Cards, Office.com search, and SharePoint search.
- Edit profile: Microsoft is cooking up a fresh, new profile editing experience, tightly integrated with Profile Cards and set to debut in late 2024. Until then, SharePoint is your go-to for profile tweaks.
- Organizational view: See who's who with the Profile Card and your reporting line in Org Explorer.
And don't worry—Delve will gently remind you and your employees of its upcoming retirement with in-app notifications.
Microsoft's Latest News About Replacing Delve
July 2024 is here, and the countdown to Delve's retirement is almost there – just six months to go!
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced its plan to retire Delve, and now they've launched a dedicated webpage, “Alternatives to Delve in Microsoft 365,” to help users navigate this transition. Here’s the lowdown on what Microsoft has shared:
Come December 2024, Delve will bid its final farewell. After this date, it will no longer be a part of Microsoft 365, nor will it receive support.
To ease the transition, Microsoft has addressed some key questions:
Where can you search for people and documents in Microsoft 365?
Delve's feature for finding people and documents can be achieved in Microsoft 365, by using the search box to look for people or by navigating through the organizational view.
The profile cards' files section, SharePoint, or Office home search can also serve as alternatives. Search for a person, click on their profile, and you'll find related data and files – an experience Microsoft promises to be as good as, if not better than, Delve.
Where can I find information about my colleagues?
Profile cards are your go-to resource for colleague information. They display contact details, organizational roles, topics, recent messages, shared files, and more. The availability of certain information might vary based on your organization’s policies and what you have shared on your profile.
Note: Delve-specific user profile properties will be transitioned to the profile cards before Delve retires. This transition will function similarly to how Azure Active Directory (AAD) properties are integrated.
Where can I manage and edit my employee profile?
Currently, editing your profile is done through Delve. However, Microsoft is developing a new profile editing experience directly linked to profile cards. Although the edit button on profile cards now redirects to Delve, this will soon change, allowing profile edits within the same interface. Expect more details on this feature rollout in the latter half of 2024 (which should be soon).
Will my Delve data be lost when it's retired?
Although certain data is shown in Delve like documents and profile data, they aren't actually stored in Delve. So, when Delve is retired only the data specific to Delve will be lost.
Are you worried about losing data? Here’s what you need to know:
- Documents and Profile Data: These are not stored in Delve, so this data won't be lost.
- Delve-Specific Data: Certain data will be lost when Delve is retired:
- Lists of favorited documents (the tags, not the documents themselves)
- Lists of favorited boards (the tags, not the boards or documents)
- Lists of recently viewed people in Delve
To preserve your data, you can export it before December 16, 2024. Just go to Settings > Feature settings > Export data.
What Does This Mean for Your Organization?
The announcement of Delve's retirement sets a clear timeline for your organization to reassess its digital tool strategy, if you're actively using Delve. Until December 2024, Delve will remain operational, allowing users to continue their usual workflow without immediate disruption.
This grace period is crucial for organizations to plan and execute a transition strategy that aligns with their operational needs and minimizes workflow disruption.
During this transition phase, Microsoft is trying not to leave users in the lurch by offering the various alternatives mentioned above. But here's the thing: Microsoft's alternatives are scattered across different tools, which might make employees think twice before embracing them. And let's face it, there are still gaping holes in Microsoft's people search and employee profiles.
And then what about people who valued Delve's centralized capabilities?
This dispersal of features across multiple tools may not be the ideal solution. The need for a holistic, integrated tool that can serve as a direct replacement for Delve is evident. Organizations have already begun exploring comprehensive solutions that can offer a seamless transition from Delve's all-in-one platform to a new, unified service that can provide similar or enhanced functionality.
The Future Beyond Delve
With Delve's impending exit and no direct successor for its features from Microsoft, users are exploring alternative Delve solutions.
OneDirectory emerges a leading contender to fill the void left by Delve, offering a robust employee directory, profile management, intelligent search capabilities, and an interactive organizational chart.
OneDirectory syncs with your Microsoft 365 and Azure AD user profiles through the Microsoft Graph, creating a searchable, interactive directory that's as easy to navigate as your favorite social network.
Here's a view at Delve's feature set, reimagined by OneDirectory:
- Delve Profile: OneDirectory provides each member of your organization with an attractive profile page that consolidates all their Microsoft 365 profile information in a single, convenient location.
- Edit profile: Admins and users alike can update profiles with ease, and choose with which fields sync with Azure Entra (Azure AD).
- Organizational view: Navigate the hierarchical layout of your organization and understand reporting relationships through the OneDirectory organizational chart, which is automatically generated using data from your Microsoft 365 user profiles.
- Profile Search: OneDirectory enables rapid searching across a vast array of employee profiles, allowing you to swiftly navigate and visually delve into the search outcomes.
Additionally, OneDirectory creates homepages for each office and department within your company and a detailed skills network utilizing the information from your Microsoft 365.
Time to Say Goodbye 👋
In conclusion, as we bid farewell to Microsoft Delve, it's clear that its legacy is not one of failure, but of paving the way for a new generation of tools.
Delve's ambition to improve profile data quality and better connect employees has set the stage for successors like OneDirectory to take the vision further.